45: Secondary Investing in Private Equity (Revised 2013)

Secondary investments in private equity can be an attractive addition to primary private equity investments. They offer broad diversification across vintage years, industries, geographies, managers and investment strategies. Generally, capital is deployed faster than with primary commitments, reducing the time that commitments are held in reserve, and they have shorter life cycles than primary funds. Realizations usually occur more quickly, driven by the maturity of the interests acquired. This has the benefit of minimizing the impact of the J-curve. This paper will examine some of the key elements of secondary investing and of investing with secondary fund managers, and will provide a framework for evaluating secondary managers.